Angels Fall (With Broken Wings)
by neonkitty1216
Summary: Following Steve as he grieves the loss of his boyfriend, Bucky, after being thawed in the 21 Century. He remembers every delightful memory of Bucky as he works with the Avengers and tries live in the new century. He's almost ready to move on when he encounters Bucky on the bridge. He endeavors to save Bucky so that they can finally live free from homophobic prejudice. Stucky.


_I tried to face the fight within, but it's over_

 _I'm ready for the riot to begin, and surrender_

 _("Angels Fall" by Breaking Benjamin)_

Steve was frozen there on the train. Bucky was gone; he fell to the bottom of a ravine of ice and snow. There was no saving him this time. Steve had to find the strength, what little strength, within himself to climb back on the train and collect himself. Buck might be gone, but the rest of the world still needed saving. So he continued on. He's got to finish this so that Bucky didn't die in vain.

He made it through the base and chased the Red Skull on a plane. In the rush of it all, Peggy kissed him. She was encouraging him, he knew. She loved him, but he was sure that she didn't know how much he loved Bucky. Peggy is beautiful and she is the first girl to see past his appearance, to his heart and soul, but technically Bucky was the first person to do that _ever,_ which helped solidify their relationship. Bucky never treated him like he was too weak to do something. He'd let Steve give all he had and then he'd help Steve get over an asthma attack. Or at least he used to. Luckily the serum made it so Steve can survive on his own.

He got on the plane, the Tesseract killed the Red Skull. He tried to grab it, but hesitated, not sure how to get it without burning his hand. That moment of hesitation lasted too long and the damned thing fell somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. No matter, Steve had a plane to fly. He hurried into the pilot seat and called Stark and the rest. They told him where he could land, but he replied that it'd be too dangerous with live nukes in his back seat. He'll have to land her in the ice. He could hear Peggy starting to cry as she made plans for a date with him: This Saturday at 8. She warned him to be not a second late. It comforted him as he landed the plane, nose first, into the south of the North Pole. The nukes didn't go off and the planet was saved; he did it.

In what felt like a fat nap, Steve woke up to the sound of a baseball game being broadcasted through a radio. He looked around the room before sitting up. He started to try and figure out what was happening. When did he get out of the plane? He doesn't remember being pulled out of the ice. He looks at the radio and the window next to it. The sounds of the city… something about them was off. He's been to that game, there's no way it'd be broadcasting right now. Then a girl entered the room, catching his attention away from the game.

She had a pleasant smile and lips that were too dark a red. "Good morning," she said and checked her watch. "Or should I say afternoon."

"Where am I?" Steve asked.

"You're in a recovery room in New York City." The way she said it sounded rehearsed. He didn't trust her. He looked her over and started his assessment; hair that was down when it should be pinned up, makeup that isn't in fashion, a tie that women do not wear, and a bra that any woman in the 1940's would not be caught dead in public wearing. Something is off. He looked back up to her eyes.

"Where am I really?" he demanded. She better tell the truth. He looked back at the radio as the announcer told about the Dodgers taking the lead, 80 to 4 and the crowd absolutely losing it. He's definitely been to this game. He remembers that pitch.

She smiled and acted like she was confused by his repeated question. "I'm afraid I don't understand." They didn't give her lines for this. Her face turned a shade of nervousness that only heightened Steve's blood pressure.

"The game," Steve said, starting to lose his patience. "It's from May, 1941, I know because I was there." Bucky took him to that game. She looked actually scared now. He stood up slowly and advanced in an intimidating manner. "Now I'm going to ask you again. Where am I?"

"Captain Rogers-"

"Who are you?" he said, nearly shouting. Then the door opened and men dressed in heavy uniforms he's never seen came in. She must have signaled them.

In no time he threw them through a wall, a set wall. He was on a set, like a movie set. The actual room was like nothing he's seen. The New York street was a picture positioned outside those fake windows.

The girl was following him, calling after him, telling him to wait. Like he was going to do that! He turned and booked it to the nearest door. Behind him, he heard her reporting: "All agents, code 13." He heard it on the overhead speakers: "I repeat, all agents, code 13." More men came around the corner, dressed the same. They were shouting to catch him. Steve wasted no time making a break for it and shoving anyone out of the way.

He made it outside to a reality he didn't belong to, ran right into the middle of the street and raced the cars till he ended up in Time Square with all the tall buildings and bright, neon signs that most certainly weren't there the last time he was in New York. He stood there, in the middle of the square, and absorbed as much as he could while catching his breath. Then cars, which didn't look like the cars that he remembers, pulled up. A voice called, "At ease, soldier!" It sounded like it was mocking him. He turned to find the owner of the voice. A tall black man with one eye and no hair, except for the goatee on his chin, dressed in a long black trench coat and a turtleneck. He approached him and talked civilly.

"Look I'm sorry about that little show back there, but… we thought it best to break it to you slowly."

"Break what?" He almost didn't want to hear the answer.

"You've been asleep, Cap. For almost seventy years." Then everything sank in. Steve took a moment to come to terms. Everything he went through; The war, Peggy, his friends, the Tesseract, the Red Skull, the plane crash, _Bucky_? Was all seventy years ago? But for him, it all happened last night. Steve could feel the panic mounting. "You gonna be okay?" the man asked.

"Yeah… yeah, I just… I had a date."

Nick Fury helped Steve adjust to life in the new century. He now had an apartment and went to the gym. When Steve asked his new friend why he had been defrosted, the truth nearly knocked him into cardiac arrest. They found the Tesseract, brought it back to their Headquarters, then _lost it_ to yet _another_ evil power who wants to kill millions of people. After knowing that, Steve spent a lot of time in the gym, beating his anger into punching bags. He went through four each visit, knocking them off the hinges and clear across the room.

One day Fury came to visit Steve while he was having a flashback and beating on the bag. He asked if Steve could tell him anything he knew that could help them with the Tesseract. What bullshit. These kids really have some nerve, don't they? Steve lost everything over that goddamn hunk of space glass. The love of his life fell to his death because of it, and they have the audacity to ask him for help again? Of course he won't refuse. If he did, millions will meaninglessly lose their lives.

"You should have left it in the ocean," Steve said bitterly as he unwrapped his hands and picked up the only punching bag that wasn't bleeding sand. He left Fury without a word and went home. Or something that was as close to home as he could make it.

Beat up, used furniture, a record player with records from his childhood and life in the 40's, and various other things that are considered antiques now. Everything in his apartment is used but in good quality. He tried his best to mimic 1945, except the TV since no one reads newspapers anymore. The only thing missing was the people... More specifically, Bucky. He knew that adjusting to 2011 would be so much easier if he had Bucky here to adjust with him. He tried not to imagine how different things would have turned out if he hadn't have fallen.

He pulled out his old sketchbook, the same one he had back in World War 2, and flipped through the multiple drawings he had of Bucky, Peggy, and the Commandos. Bucky filled the majority of those pages. He used to sketch him whenever he wasn't paying attention or when he fell asleep.

The sketchbook was in a box along with some of his other things. Apparently Peggy collected them and held onto them to remember him by. He went to see her as soon as he found out she was still alive. She is the last thing he has that ties him to his old life. He visits her at least four times a week now. It hurts him to see how old she's gotten, but it cheers him up to see the young spark in her eyes. He was thrilled to find out that she had a family. Though the topic of family always brought him back to Bucky.

They used to talk about it when they were alone. How they would secretly get married and adopt some kids right off the street. Kids that didn't need documentation like the kids from an orphanage. Another plan was to marry a couple of lesbians and give the world that facade. If they did that then they would be able to legally adopt kids and not tip off the social workers. He and Bucky used to talk about these things for hours, trying to come up with the best way to work around the law and have a family.

Steve can only imagine how ecstatic Bucky would be with this new century. They could walk down the street, hand in hand, and not worry about being killed or jailed for it. Steve just _knows_ that Bucky would flaunt their relationship at any opportunity. He would make sure they were loud and proud. They could adopt a kid with only mild hassle. They still wouldn't be able to get married, but they would be able to have everything else, and marriage wouldn't really be necessary. If only Bucky was around for that dream to be a reality.

These thoughts kept Steve at an odd equilibrium of grief and joy.


End file.
